The Transfer
by Gumdrop1
Summary: MS Fluff


Title: The Transfer

Author: Gumdrop

Rating: PG

Disclaimer" Without a Trace isn't mine. :(

Summary: M/S A little angsty piece of fluff.

Author's Notes: I thought of and wrote this story in one day. It's my first WaT fic ever. Some songs that inspired me while I was writing this fic were "My Immortal" by Evanescence, "If I Should Fall Behind" by Faith Hill, and "Only Hope" by Mandy Moore. And now on with the story...

The Transfer

Samantha Spade walked from the break room back into the office with a bounce in her step. She had been walking in that manner a lot lately, ever since that night she had invited Martin Fitzgerald to come home with her. At the time the logical side of her brain had told her that it was a horrible idea. No matter how much she liked Martin, really liked Martin, mixing business with pleasure, she had learned, was not a smart thing to do. She had been burned once. Her heart having been taken apart piece by piece. It was unrealistic to think that Martin could put the pieces back together, and even if it was possible was it fair to him?

But despite all this well thought out analysis the thought of not taking the chance, of not trying gave her a unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach. And the idea of going home without him that night was just too difficult to bear. In the end it was that pull to be with him that had made her decision for her. And it seemed to be the right one. Things were going well, it had been a long time since she had been this happy.

Upon entering the office she stopped dead in her tracks. She could see Martin at his desk. He was looking down at a piece of paper and the look on his face gave her an upsetting sense of foreboding. There was of course no sense in standing in the hallway staring at Martin wondering what the hell was going on. So Sam blinked her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and swallowing her dread walked over to Martin's desk. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she had a sinking feeling that things were about to change, and not for the better. She stood beside his desk, cradling her coffee cup like it was a security blanket.

"What's wrong?" Her voice sounded dry and hollow. Martin looked up at her. His eyes looked glassy and distant. And he gave her the saddest of looks, like all his hope had suddenly been taken away. He opened his mouth as if to say something but he changed his mind. Instead he just handed her the paper he'd been looking at. She read it over, her mouth dropping open in shock.

"The transferring you." She had said it so quietly that she wasn't sure if he'd heard, but he had.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Denver, Colorado."

"When?"

"Effective immediately." She opened her mouth to say more but nothing came out for a moment, all thoughts a jumble in her head. She licked her lips and tried to focus.

"Why?"

"They're in need of an agent there. New York has a good reputation so they wanted someone from here. And since I was last hired..."

"You're first fired." She paused and neither one said anything for a long moment. "But what...? We just...?" She didn't finish any of her questions. She already knew the answer, Denver was a long way away. She bit her tongue and look down at the floor. "When..." She choked on the words. "...when do you fly out?"

"Friday."

"Friday?" She repeated more loudly then she would have liked. She looked around quickly to see if she had garnered any attention before she turned back to Martin. He didn't seem upset by her outburst, he seemed to still be in shock from the news. He took a quick look at the floor himself before raising his eyes to hers once again.

"They want me to start work there next Monday."

"That's not enough time."

"No such thing as 'enough' time." Sam just looked at him. He looked so sad, so disappointed, as if someone had handed him everything he had ever wanted on a silver platter and then snatched it away again.

"I um...I should get back to work." She said, then she turned on her heel and went to her desk. She immediately began shuffling through papers though she wasn't paying them any attention. Martin could see that she was upset so he pushed his chair over to her and began running his hand back and forth across her back. She froze.

"Sam."

"It's not fair." She turned to look at him.

"Sam."

"Please, I can't deal with this right now, I just can't." She went back to her papers, and he pulled his hand away.

"Ok." He pushed his chair back over to his own desk and got back to work. With his back to her he didn't see her head drop to her hands as she just sat there, Lost in a sea of shock and sadness."

As Sam laid in bed that night, she cried silently. This was more than unfair. It seemed that every time she got a bit of happiness in her life it was taken away from her again. Why? Sometimes she wondered if it was God's way of punishing her for the terrible mistakes she had made in the past.

Sam felt Martin wipe away her tears, she turned and looked at him.

"We're not going to make it are we?" She asked.

"I don't know." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "I don't want to lose you Sam. But Denver is a long way away. Long distance relationships are difficult and can't ask to live like that."

"You didn't ask."

Two days later Martin sat as his desk contemplating his bad luck. He had liked Sam ever since the first day he had met her. She was smart, funny, and oh so beautiful. But after she turned him down the first time he had asked her out he had figured that their working friendship was going to be the extent of their relationship. Then that night had happened. Then one night had turned into two, two into three, three into four. Now they came and left together every day, moved through the apartment without bumping into each other, and didn't think of doing anything without involving the other.

When Martin had heard that Jack was staying his heart had sunk. After that every time Sam had opened her mouth he had been afraid that the dreaded 'We need to talk.' was going to come out. After all, Jack was getting divorced, what was there to keep them apart now? But the words never came, and Martin saw that when she looked at Jack now it was not with the same desperate longing that she had had before. That had given him a sense of hope. Now, however, that hope was gone. He was going away. Far away. He would be gone and Jack would be here and that was the end of it.

"Martin." He swiveled his chair around to face Sam. She looked bright and hopeful, clutching a piece of paper in her hands. He wondered what important piece of case information she had discovered. She was really far more brilliant then she gave herself credit for. He loved that about her. He loved everything about her.

"What's up?" She handed him the paper she was holding. He read it, his mouth dropping open in shock.

"You're transferring to Denver."

"Apparently there's room for one more and are glad to have me."

"When?"

"Effective immediately, all I have to do is sign it." She waited for Martin's reaction. He reached for a pen and handed it to her. He smiled, a smile so big it looked as if he had just won the lottery. To Martin, however, this was far better then the lottery.

The End


End file.
